Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive for the coronavirus, the Navy said Tuesday, revealing that this is a first for a deployed warship.

"Three cases of COVID-19 have been identified among personnel currently deployed and underway on the USS Theodore Roosevelt," Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly revealed Tuesday. "These our are first three cases of COVID-19 on a ship that is deployed."Advertisement

There are roughly 5,000 sailors aboard the Nimitz-class carrier, Fox News, which first reported the cases, noted, all of whom live in tight conditions in staterooms and berthing spaces.

The sailors who have tested positive for the virus have been quarantined and are being flown off the ship. Everyone that the three infected sailors had contact with are also being quarantined as well. "This is an example of our ability to keep our ships deployed at sea even with active COVID-19 cases," Modly said, adding that the integrated naval force remains on watch.

"Our ships are sailing, our planes are flying, and training is still happening to safeguard our US national interests and those of all of our allies and partners around the world," the acting secretary said.